TALKANCO BACK IN THE WINNING GROOVE

By Graham Potter | Saturday, October 31, 2026

It was touted as a two-horse race and the two main fancies duly filled the first two places in the Group 3 Prince Of Wales Stakes at Ascot, where the Daniel and Ben Pearce trained favourite Talkanco ($2.30) beat the Daniel Morton trained second favourite Immortal Bliss ($2.80) home by a 0.70 length margin in a race in which the speed went on right from the break.

It was the $15 chance Dawn Dancer who scorched away into the early lead and the chestnut had the field stretched out a full twelve lengths halfway through the contest.

When Dawn Dancer brought the field to the home turn, Talkanco was back in fifth place, all of six lengths off the leader but, importantly, the Pearce stable runner was herself more than two lengths clear of Immortal Bliss, meaning that she would get first run on her market-rival when the field straightened for home … and she would also be able to take the shorter way home of the two runners.

And that is exactly what happened in the home straight with jockey Brad Parnham wasting no time in pushing Talkanco out four wide, where he asked Talkanco to being unwinding a finishing effort which grew stronger with each passing stride.

Talkanco was in front by the 200m mark, but two runners, Kraken Time ($17) and Immortal Bliss, were now steaming down the centre of the track as the only threats to the race favourite.

While both of these runners continued to close up on Talkanco in the final chase to the line, the start they had given him was too big a margin to peg back and Talkanco had done enough to secure the honours from Immortal Bliss (who finished second) and Kraken (third).

Talkanco, who is a million dollar earner, has now won five times (with seven minor placings) from only fifteen starts.

Her biggest win came in the 2025 Group 2 Karrakatta and he has also saluted in the Group 3 Gimcrack and the Max Simmonds Stakes.